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Fancy French Hospital Food

Mention France to anyone and more than likely they will think of French cuisine. The French are renowned for their excellent food and for the important role that food and meal times play in their culture and that is something that I have really come to appreciate.

After years of learning and appreciating the importance of meal times in families, I’ve now discovered meal times also important in a busy hospital environment. Twice this year I have been in hospital at lunch time and have been provided with food and watched as nurses, Doctors and technicians stop and have their lunch too.

The first time I was in ER and they were keeping me in to see a specialist. As I was there at lunch time they served me a tray of food. Nothing exciting. Just some mashed potato and something that bore a resemblance to chicken, along with a salad and yoghurt for dessert. But still, I was in an ER department, not exactly where you’d expect to get a free lunch!

The second time was yesterday. I had to spend the day at hospital in Lyon for testing and to see various Doctors. As I had to be nil by mouth upon arrival (and boy did I complain about that!) I was promptly asked what I wanted for breakfast and fed within minutes of my blood exams. How relieved was I? They certainly knew how to get me in a good mood and even when they told me they’d forgotten to book my MRI scan I was not that bothered.

After a morning of hanging around, having x-rays and enough blood taken to feed a vampire I had chosen to sit in the corridor avoiding all the sick people in the waiting room as I didn’t want to deal with any more germs than Baby Piglet brings home.
I was so engrossed in a novel that I didn’t notice it was lunchtime that I was taken my surprise when a nurse came and said that my lunch was being served. She seemed surprised that I wasn’t already in the lunch room with the other patients.

Off I trotted and was greeted by ten or so patients cheerfully tucking into lunch. I was asked to take a seat and then was served up a four course meal: red cabbage salad with a bread roll to start, chicken and almond tagine with vegetables and semoule for my main, chocolate éclair for dessert and yoghurt for my second dessert. Wow! Only thing missing was a bottle of wine!

To be honest the food was quite bland but there was salt and pepper available and it was more than edible. It was much better than a sandwich or McDonalds which I thought that I’d have to go out and get for my lunch (there is a McDonalds opposite the hospital). The chocolate éclair was heavenly and as I was later told by a Doctor to lose weight I am so glad they provided it and I ate it.

You’ve got to hand it to the French though, the food I ate yesterday was far better than some of the meals I paid to have out in the UK!

This is just what I would expect in my daydreams about how people in France live🙂
Here, at the hospital in Buenos Aires , we discovered the Cafe. The hospital is huge and has an inner garden .. palm trees, green grass. walks and quiet .. and this glass cafe. Where they have a full bar and anything you would like to eat. I am never in the mood to eat when I am at the hospital but it is good to know it is there if I ever feel peckish while having a test etc.
Meanwhile, I and my husband ( we never do things without each other) are both having Skin Cancer surgery ! how is that for closeness !🙂

I would like to say it’s cute that you guys do stuff together but I am sorry to hear of your surgery requirements and hope that everything is okay for you. However, I cannot think of a more perfect setting to be in hospital, you have got me very envious with your stories of palm trees, grasses and a glass cafe with full bar!
Be well soon x

Never offered anything as a day patient while as an inpatient the food was ghastly, cooked in a ‘centrale’ probably nuclear, some miles away, everything under plastic peel back flaps…ghastly.
The only time he saw ‘real’ food was when he was served a plate of green beans for lunch. Nothing else, just green beans.

Just green beans? wow! How did they expect him to get better? You can’t feed a man just green beans! Poor Mr Fly’s experience is much more like what I was expecting, TBH the food wasn’t great when I gave birth so I guess it depends where you are. I suppose Lyon is the gastronomic capital of France so food may be better?

That’s lovely! I’m so happy to hear about that – I had no idea they were that serious (and generous) about lunch at the hospitals! Kudos to them for taking care of their patients! Lunch IS the most important meal of the day after all.

Yes! I am always staggered that for all the ‘5 a day’ business the government here tries to educate the public about, nutrition is NEVER taken into account as a part of the healing process in hospitals.

When I had my little girl, I struggled to feed myself because I was so exhausted (more than the normal exhaustion, doctors were worried for a while that I wasn’t picking up after the birth) and yet they didn’t give any thought that I might need help or that I should eat certain things to boost my system. And the food wasn’t just bland and watery, it tasted revolting and you could tell just by looking at it that it had no nutritional value whatsoever.

You poor thing! That sounds like a nightmare, just when you needed the strength as well. After giving birth you need nutritionally rich food to feed your body after the baby has taken everything away! Surely the NHS realise that? Did you have to take the iron tablets?
Whilst my food was pretty terrible after giving birth and my standard of care was non-existant, the food was varied and well balanced.

Thanks Sarah. The tests were routine testing that they want to do to have markers for me. I chickened out of the MRI, massive panic attack in the tube, felt like I was being buried alive, even had nightmares last night.

Funny how there’s not a national standard and it’s strange how hospitals worldwide don’t realise the importance of food. Afterall, food can make us ill so why don’t they realise it can also make us better?

Sorry to hear that you’ve had to be hospitalized. Hope all is well. At least you are getting good food. Our American hospitals are notorious for serving the worst food imaginable and we often sneak real food into our loved ones – observing their dietary regulations of course. If one must be in hospital – France sounds like a divine location.

Sorry to hear you had to go to hospital. Hope things get better soon.
My husband was in hospital a couple of years ago for a knee op. The food was almost non-existent! Apart from one bowl of very weak coffee at breakfast, that was the only caffeine he got all day officially. Me and the kids kept nipping down to the machine in the lobby to buy him more and I brought in red cross food parcels too. He’d have been starving otherwise. It was a surprise at the time. We weren’t expecting gourmet meals, but these were plain inadequate.
I’m glad to hear you’re better fed where you are!

That sounds awful! Poor man! Thankfully you were able to bring him parcels, imagine the poor people who didn’t have frequent visitors… it doesn’t bear thinking.
After I gave birth I would get bowls of weak coffee in the morning. Drove me mad, I couldn’t sit up so it was impossible to drink> I’ve never worked out why the French serve coffee and tea in bowls in the morning – anyone know?

I hope you are feeling better soon and maybe that eclair will get you on your way! I haven’t yet experience hospital food here, but I guess I would just assume it would be gourmet with some wonderful French chef in the back kitchen just cooking up a storm to wow all the patients!
Ashley